Thermo-pneumatic temperature-regulator



(No Model.)v

W. S. JOHNSON. TEERMo ENEUMATIG TEMPERATURE REGULATOR. No. 314,027.

Patented Mam. 17, 1885.

nf@ f:

N. PEYERS. Phmumugnpnnr. washingiuu. D: C.

@tir-irren Starts Aram* @tripa VARREN S. JOHXSON, OF VV'HITEVATER, SSIGNOR OF `ONE-HALF TO VILLIAM ILANKINTON, OF MILWAUKEE, XVISCONSIN.

THERMO-FiriUMA-TIC TEMPRATUREEREGULTOR.

S?ECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No.

Application led June 20, i894.

SLLOZ', dated March 17,1385.

(No modell) p clear, and exact description thereof.

to operate the main valve.

My invention relates to a class of inventions used to control the temperature of apartments by automatically cutting off or admitting the supply of heat; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction, as will be fully set forth hereinafter.

In the drawings-Figure lis a vertical longitudinal section ofthe main valve which closes the steam or other passage, and of the expansi- 4ble chamber connected therewith, together with a side elevation, partly in section, of the` thermostat which serves to operate the valves which control the admission ofair under pressnre to the said expansible chamber, as well as a view of the reservoir for compressed air and the pipe-connections.- Fig. 2 is a partly-sectional elevation of a modified form of thermostat, and Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional View of part ot' the device shown by Fig. 2.

In my present invent-ion I utilize the expan sion or contraction of substances resulting from a change of temperaturcto open or close airvvalves which, by admitting compressed air to eXpansible chambers, serve to actuate the main valveswhich control the supply of heat.

Heretofore, so far as known to me, thermostats'have been used for the purpose `of controlling passages only in two ways: first, by moving the main valves directly, as in dampcir-regulators for furnaces, and, secondly, by closing an electric circuit, which in turn served In a previous invention ofmine for an ElectricValve for RegulatingTemperature,7 &c., for whichIiled an application for Letters Patent on March 10, 1884, I used the thermostat to controlan electrioeurrent, which in turn controlled the admission to or release from an expansible chamber of steam, gas, or other iiuid, said expansible chamberby its movements serving to control the main valve. In my present invention,

[ however, I discard the intermediate use of electricity for accomplishing the ultimate design and actuate the valves for compressed air or other gas by the direct utilization of the mechanical effects of the expansion or contraction of the substances of which the thermostat is formed.

I will rst describe my main valve and expansible chamber.

A is the valve-body or valve-housing; B, the valve-disk, described in det-ail hereinafter, and c the seat for the valve-disk; C, the packingbox, through which the stem D passes.

E is a follower or packing-uut, screw-threaded, as shown, and designed to compress the packing ein the packing-box c when necessary to prevent a leak. F and G are respectively the inlet and outlet couplings for connection with the steam or other passages.

- H is a piece ofthe shape of an inverted saucer, fastened to the upper end of the stem D.

I is a ring, which is connected to the top of the packing-box C by means of a spider composed of the right-angled arms a a, inside of which spider the piece I'I on the stem D has vertical play, being kept normally at the greatl est distance from the top of the packing-box C that the pressure above (hereinafter described) will permit by means ot' the spiral spring b, surrounding the stem D.

J is a piece of the same general shape as the piece II, except that it has a right-angled flange., L, around its periphery, by means of which it is secured, by the bolts or screws i i, to the ring I, a iiexible diaphragm, K, made ot' cloth or rubber-preferably the latter-being secured between the adjacent surfaces of the fiange L and ring I firmly, so as to make everywhere an air-tight joint, forming an expansible chamber, 7i, above the diaphragm K. M is a tube leading into an opening, j, formed in a boss or projection on the exterior of the piece K, the-said opening extending into the expansible chamber.V

The valve-disk B is connected to its stemD in this manner: The lower end of the stem is reduced and screw-threaded, as at d, and this end is screwed into a headed nut, f, the flanged head of which is of greater diameter than the bore in another nut or collar, g, which is first loo` slipped over the nut f before the stem D is screwed to place, and then the nut g, whose exterior is screw-threaded, is screwed within the hollow upper part of the valve-disk B, whereby the said disk is substantially swiveled or loosely connected to its stem, as shown in Fig. l.

The upper part ofthe piece J(which I designate the umbrella-shaped piece7) is made of increased thickness and centrally perforated, and the inner surface of the collar Z, thereby formed, is screw-threaded to receive the correspondingly screw-threaded lower part of the stem-guide O, which supports the the auxiliary stem N. This guide O has a ring or ange, o, resting upon top of the eollar Z, and is centrally perforated (longitudinally) to receive the said stem N, the lower part of which has exterior screw-threads working in correspon ding screw-threads within the lower part ofthe described central bore of the stem-guide O. The upper exterior part of said guide O is likewise screw-threaded to receive the screw-cap I, perforated for the admission of the stem N, and suitable packing, p, is interposed between the under surface of the top of this cap and the top of the guide O. The base of the auxiliary stem N is furnished with a ange, n, and its upper end is provided with a wheel or handle, Q, secured to the stem N, as by screw q.

R R represent the different substancessuch, for example. as steel and vnlcanite, respectively of which a thermostat is composed. This thermostat is rigidly secured at a" to some convenient part of the room the temperature of which is to be regulated. The part I?. is bifurcated at its lower end, the fork thereby 'formed in the form shown in Fig. l having the tine if" with square end, and the tine r" with an inward-extending right-angled catch at its end.

S is a reservoir containing air under pressure, and having a pipe, s, leading to a valvechamber, T, having two valve-seats, t and t', opposite each other, as well as an outlet, t2, communicating with the pipe or passage m, which leads to the pipes or passages Mj of the expansible chamber, already described.

U is a disk mounted on a shaft, U', and having au. offset, u, adapted to engage alternately with one or the other of the lines r or o, as hereinafter described. The said disk also has a pin, a, projecting therefrom, from which is suspended a link, u2, which in turn carries a valve-stem, V, bearing a two-faced valve, fv v, adapted to be carried against the valve-seats t t, respectively.

In this form of thermostat I employ sufficient eloek-work, as shown by the wheel l, mounted on the shaft U, which carries the disk U, and the wheel 2, meshing therewith, and the spring 8, to actuate the disk U by the unwinding force of the spring 3, and permit it to make a half-revolution at a time from the tine 1" to the tine r2, and vice versa, whenever the expansion or contraction of the thermostat frees the offset u from contact with either tine.

The operation of my device will be readily understood from the foregoing description and illustration of its construction: The compressed air from the reservoir S lls the pipe s, but is prevented from entering the valvechamber T so long as the valve-head v is pressed against its seat t, as shown in Fig. l. In this ligure my device is represented as at a time when the steam or other heat passages are open, the main valve B, controlling the same, being raised from its seat c. Should Lthe temperature in the room become raised above its present condition, the thermostat will expand and move to the left, thereby releasing the tine r from contact with the offset u on the disk U, when the unwinding force of the spring 3 will set the train of clock-work in motion, and the wheel 2 will turn the wheel l, and the latter, being fast on the same shaft, U, that carries the disk U, will cause the said disk to make a half-revolution until its offset u encounters the stop on the other tine, r2, the link n2 and valve-stem Vlbeing thereby raised. so that the valve-head t now bears against its seat t', freeing the seatt from contact with the valve-head1; and enabling the compressed air in the pipe s to enter the valve-chamber T, and thence to pass out through the outlet i2 into the pipes or passages m, M, and j, into the expansible chamber h, depressing the ilexible diaphragm K, and with it the saucer-piece II and valve-stem D, (against the force of the spring 1),) thereby forcing the main valve-disk B against its seat c, closing the inlet-passage of the steam or other heating medium. Conversely, when the temperature of the room falls below the required point by reason of such shutting off of the steam or other heating medium, then the thermostat will contract and move to the right. which action will free the catch on the tine 1 from contact with the offset u on the disk U, and the said disk will make another half-revolution back to the posit-ion shown in Fig. l until stopped by the tine fr', when the valve-head t will again rest on its seat t, thereby shutting off any further supply of compressed air from the reservoir S, and the compressed air in the cxpansible chamber h will seek an outlet back through the passages j, M, m, and t2, and out of the valve-chamber T, through the opening above the valve-seat t', into the room, as indicated by the arrows, while at the same time, as the compressed air escapes from the expansihle chamber li, the spring b, operating against the under side of the saucer-piece H, raises it and the stem D, and opens the valve B to the fullest extcnt, enabling the steam or other heating medium to again enter at the inlet F, as before.

In Figs. 2 and 3 I show aslight modification of the thermostat, together with devices for operating the main valve therefrom, dispensing with the clock-work shown in Fig. l. In this form of my device I have shown the several parts in the positions they would occupy IIO IIS

when the room is toowa'rm and withthe thermostat expanded, and hence when the main valve B is closed against its seat c, or, in other words, in just the reversed condition from that shown by the thermostat and its connections in Fig. l, and with the further difference that the valve-seat t is shown here as exterior to the valve-chamber T, instead of being in the interior ot' said chamber, as in Figi. The compressed air from the reservoirs passes into the interior of the chamber T, as first described, and the valve c being against its seat t, the said air moves out of the chamber through outlet t2 into the pipe m, and thence through M andj into the expansible chamber h, all as before set forth, to close the valve B and shut off the admission of steam or other medium, and thereby cool the apartment. Conversely, when the room becomes too cool, the thermostat contracts and moves to the right, thereby freeing the valve c from contact with its seat t', and enabling the compressed air to escape out into the room and the main valve B to open, while the plunger oz of the valve-stem V, that is attached to the tine r of the thermostat, will thereby be also carried to the right, pressing against a fiexible diaphragm, c, (corresponding to the valvehead c in Fig. 1,) over the inner end of the hollow nut o3, within which the plunger u2 works, and pressing the said diaphragm 'u against the valve-seat t at the terminus of the passage s, completely shutting ott the supply of compressed air until the room again becomes too warm, and so on continuously and automatically.

By means of the hollow nut c3, above named, I am enabled to make a nice adjustment of the valve-action, and as the valve-stems V V` in this form of' my device are made of springsteel or analogous material having a spring action, the right-hand stem, which bears the valve-head fo', has a tension which keeps it firmly in place against the seat t until after the plunger u2 on the opposite stem has forced the diaphragm v against the seat t and rmly closed that port.

The object of the auxiliary stem N is to enable the valve B to be closed by hand at any time desired, instead of automatically, and it operates by simply turning the wheel or handle Q, which serves to screw the stem downward through the stem guide O, when the flange a at the base of the stem N will bear down on the diaphragm K and depress the saucer-piece H and stem D, and thereby force the valve-disk B to its seat. This auxiliary stem serves the same purpose as that shown in my former application, to which reference has been made hereinbefore; but its construction and attachment are entirely different.

Having thus described my invention, vwhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- 1. The combination, with a main valve controlling steam or analogous passages, and an expansible chamber for operating said valve,

of a thermostat and a double valve operated directly thereby, a reservoir ot' compressed air, and suitable pipe connections or passages, substantially as described, whereby the main valve will beoperated by the compressed air and the passage of the latter to and from the expausiblc chamber be controlled by the action of the thermostat, substantially as set forth.

2. In a temperatu'reregulator, the combination of a thermostat whose free portion is moved by a change ot' temperature in the surrounding medium, a valve mechanism operated by the mechanical action of said thermostat, a reservoir of air or other gas under pressure, the escape of the air or gas from said reservoir being controlled by the mechanical action of said thermostat through said valve mechanism, an expansible chamber whose inlet and outlet are controlled by said valve` mechanism and a valve operated by the expanslon of said chamber, said valve by its movements controlling a steam or other passage, whereby a rise of temperature in the medium surrounding the thermostat operates the outlet to said reservoir and inlet to said expansible chamber, so that the chamber is expanded and the valve governing the steam or other passage is operated in one direction, and a fall of temperature in the surrounding medium through the mechanical action of the thermostat serves to close the inlet to said expansible chamber and opens the outlet to said chamber, whereby the said valve which controls the steam or other passage is operated in the other direction, substantially as set forth.

8. In a temperature-regulator,the combination'of a thermostat having fork or projections at its free end, and actuating mechanism, substantially as described,with a valve-chamber having inlet and outlet ports, and a double valve adapted to close one ot' said ports and open the other, according as the thermostat expands or contracts, substantially as set forth.

4. In a temperature-regulator,the combination of a valve adapted to close a steam or other passage, an expansible chamber having a fiexible wall and a rigid backing, a valvestem having a disk secured to the end opposite the valve, said stem passing through the packing-box of the valve-body, and a spring interposed between the packingbox and disk and surrounding said stem, substantially as set forth.

5. In a temperature-regulator,the combination of a valve adapted to close a steam or other passage, an expansible chamber having a flexible wall and a rigid backing, a valvestein passing through the packing-box of the valve body or housing and having a disk secured to the end opposite the valve, a spring interposed between the packing-box and disk and surrounding said stem, and an auxiliary stem bearing a flange on its inner end and a wheel or handle on its outer end, and having valve-disk B swiveled or loosely connected to.

the other end, and the spring b,interposed between the disk H and packing-box C, sul)1 stantially as set forth.

7. In Combination with the thermostat R R',

having the forked ends r r2, the disk U, mount-ed on shaft U and provided With ofsetu and pin u', the valve-chamber T. having inlet-port with valve-seat t, and outlet-port with valveseat t', the link u2, valvestem V, and twofaced valve o o, and suitable clock-work mechanism, and pipes or passages to and from thc valvechamber, substantially as set forth. l

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand at Milwaukee, in

the county of Milwaukee and State of Vis- 3o cousin, in the presence of two witnesses.

TWARREN S. JOHNSON.

W'i tn esses:

H. G. UNDERWooD, H. J. FoRsY'rHE. 

